What/Who:

Webster University Art Department presents “Enshroud,” an exhibition featuring several works of art from the University’s collection, as well as commentary on the current state of the university’s “private collection” of art. Using separate venues, the exhibit is in two parts. The installations are to be viewed as a balanced diptych.

This exhibition has been organized as a practical element of the Introduction to Curatorial Studies course at Webster University in which students were encouraged to explore alternative processes and approaches to curating as an artistic, social and critical activity and as part of group collaboration.

“Enshroud” was developed from a discussion about the continued relevance of Walter Benjamin’s writing from 1935: “Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction” resulting in a dialogue about this collection and a means in which to present it. “Enshroud” is named as such given much of the collection is in storage and is “hidden,”  “covered” or “concealed” from public view. Using a violent subtext, the deconstructed installation of selected works from Webster’s collection in the Hunt Gallery, presents this concept both physically and metaphorically as a “crime scene” with direct reference to Benjamin’s writing on a new stage of photography.

Alternatively, the installation at Snowflake/Citystock directly refers to Benjamin’s concerns about the withering away of the “aura” of an artwork. By presenting the ambience of a “wake” and using photographic reproductions of chosen work from the collection with pieces by artist’s such as David Hockney, Tim Rollins and Georges Braque, among others, “Enshroud” is pointing directly to the absence of the work while simultaneously comparing it to the loss of a human “soul” and what was a “unique existence.”

When/Where:

January 18-February 1, 2008

Part I, Opening Reception: Friday, Jan. 18, 2008, from 6–7:30 p.m. at  the Cecille R. Hunt Gallery, Visual Arts Studio, Webster University 
8342 Big Bend Blvd.
Gallery hours are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday or by  appointment

Part 2: Reception at Snowflake/Citystock, Jan. 18, 7–10 p.m.
3156 Cherokee Street
Snowflake/Citystock Hours: 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. Saturday

Cost:

Exhibit and reception are free and open to the public.

More Info:

Call 968-7171 or joness@webster.edu